Old Man Winter roared back into western and north central Nebraska Sunday afternoon on winds that gusted to nearly 50 miles an hour.

Cold and snow are forecast through the first half of the week, according to the National Weather Service in North Platte.

Colder temperatures and accumulating snows are expected to check in Monday night and continue through Wednesday night, the weather service predicts.

Temperatures will reach the upper 30s and sink to the mid 20s all three days, with wind gusts as high as 30 miles an hour.

As of Sunday night, the highest snow accumulations looked likely across the eastern Nebraska panhandle and western Sandhills, where total amounts were forecast to exceed six inches over the three days.

The storm comes on the heels of a three-day storm April 8-10, when strong winds blew a light snow around and wind-chill temperatures dipped below zero in North Platte.